This Week in Weird, Nov. 19

The best strange news of the week as reported by GateHouse newspapers.

Bystander thwarts robbery, shoots suspect

MASSILLON, Ohio - A bystander thwarted a robbery Sunday night outside a supermarket by shooting the suspect, according to police.

The unidentified man was sitting in his car in the store’s parking lot when he saw the robbery occur. Andrew Robinson, 20, allegedly pistol-whipped a 22-year-old victim just outside the store around 9 p.m.

According to police reports, the witness to the assault shot Robinson once in the groin, before Robinson fled the scene on foot. Officers arrested him after they found him inside an apartment.

Robinson is facing charges of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, and felonious assault, a second-degree felony, in connection with the incident, according to jail records.

Woman charged with drunken driving, shoving officer

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - A Framingham woman shoved a cop and tried to get away from him Tuesday to avoid being arrested for drunken driving, police said.

Susan P. Mathews, 50, kicked the inside of the police car's door and the divider between her and the officer all the way to the station, police spokesman Lt. Ron Brandolini said.

Officer Val Krishtal went to a shopping plaza for a report of two people harassing people.

Krishtal went there and was speaking to a man when he saw a Ford Focus park nearby, straddling the lines separating the two spots, Brandolini said. Mathews stumbled out of the car with red, glassy eyes.

"(Krishtal) asked for her license, and she asked why," Brandolini said. "She said, 'I only drove from one side of the parking lot to the other. It's not like I'm driving drunk.' "

Mathews searched her purse for several minutes, then said, "I'm done with this," and began walking away, Brandolini said.

Krishtal stopped her, and she shoved him in the chest. When he attempted to arrest her, she pulled her arms away, thrashing about to avoid being taken into custody.

Mathews was charged with assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and driving under the influence of liquor.

Police find cache of stolen items worth $1 million in storage unit

EAST LYME, Conn. - Police have recovered an estimated $1 million in stolen items found over the weekend in a storage unit in East Lyme.

The stolen property — a mix of jewelry, tools and other items — was discovered as part of an ongoing investigation into a rash of burglaries along the Interstate 95 corridor, according to East Lyme Resident Trooper Sgt. Wilfred Blanchette III.

Blanchette said police have prepared warrants for two men. The men have eluded capture, he said.